This is the landing page for Arduino-related projects and topics.

The first Arduino project is a simple MIDI drawbar controller for the Yamaha PSR-S950 arranger workstation. Controller hardware is simple: an Arduino UNO microcomputer, a Sparkfun DangerShield with sliders, buttons and LEDs, and a minimal MIDI OUT circuit. This project is a “proof of concept” prototype. I realized during implementation that I drastically overreached in terms of user interface! I rather hopelessly overloaded the buttons and sliders in order to control all nine drawbars, vibrato and percussion with only three physical sliders. The design and source code should provide a starting point for a less complicated drawbar controller. The source code is here.

The 60s Combo Organ project is a five voice, MIDI-driven combo organ supporting a Farfisa sound and a Vox sound. The project makes use of the now out-of-production MidiVOX shield for 5-pin MIDI input and 12-bit DAC audio output. The code compiles under older versions of the Arduino IDE; newer versions of the IDE implement a different PROGMEM interface with stricter type checking.

The simple Arduino tone sequencer is a good beginning project for the littleBits Arduino. It plays back a simple song using the Arduino tone()function.

The simple MIDI sequencer is based on the simple tone sequencer. Instead of playing notes with tone(), the simple MIDI sequencer sends MIDI notes through a 5-pin MIDI OUT. The project requires a 5-pin MIDI OUT circuit

The sequencer with trigger and modulation also extends the simple tone sequencer. It adds trigger and modulation outputs to control littleBits filter and envelope modules.

The Arduino Lo-fi Beat Box is another littleBits-based project. It plays back several classic rhythm patterns using lo-fi, grungy TR-808 percussion sounds.

The littleBits projects have also been posted at the littleBits invention site. The Lo-Fi Beat Box is described here and the littleBits version of the combo organ is described here. The littleBits combo organ employs the new PROGMEM interface and syntax, which can be back-ported to the original combo organ code. (An exercise for the reader!)

Please note that the littleBits Arduino is a Leonardo-compatible board. If you port the littleBits projects to Arduino UNO, you may need to change or comment out a few Leonardo-only features. I also recommend studying the littleBits signal conventions and pin-outs before starting a port. You will need to map the littleBits signals to standard Arduino UNO signals and pins.